Jealousy
by elizabeth76lx
Summary: Shikamaru's dating Temari but Ino wants him. With some help she tries to win him over. But it's not like Temari's just going to step aside and let her take him. Wow, being jealous can really hurt people, literally.
1. We Need A Plan

**I love ShikaIno so I decided to write a fic for them. I'm having a lot of fun writing it so I h****ope you enjoy! H****ere's ther first chapter. I'm trying to keep steady updates so ya'll don't get bored waiting!**

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It made Ino sick to her stomach to see Temari all over him like that. She just wanted to launch across the table and rip the other blonde to shreds. No one even invited her to sit with them. Choji, Ino and Shikamaru were just out to lunch before afternoon practice and she just waltzed right on over and plopped her ugly butt next to Shikamaru. To make matters even worse he greeted her with a smile. A SMILE! He never did that for Ino. All she got was a look from the corner of his eye and if she was lucky a "hey there." But then again, Shikamaru and Temari were dating now. DATING! Ino could feel the rage inside of her burn every time she heard that word. How bad that made her want to tear Temari apart. The only thing that stopped her was the thought of what Shikamaru would think of her, he liked Temari.

"I'm leaving." Ino said sounding calmer than she thought she could as she stood up from the booth and started out of the store. Not even looking at Shikamaru as she passed. But she could feel their eyes watching her. Leaving like that is very out of her character but she couldn't stand to be there any longer.

She was an hour early when she arrived at the spot that they train. Trying to let off some steam, she began to punch and kick at some of the boards that were set up. She was so wrapped up in her anger that she didn't even hear someone else approach.

"Out here a bit early aren't you?" Sakura said as she calmly walked towards Ino.

"What do you want billboard brow?" Ino rudley replied, not even looking at her friend.

"I saw you leaving the village and knew you still had a while till your afternoon practice. You seemed really upset so I decided to follow you. What's wrong?"

"Nothing that concerns you." Ino growled. Sakura stared at her friend with some shock. She and Ino have had some rough spots in the past with the whole Sasuke situation. But even then Sakura never saw Ino like this.

Ino stopped hitting the board when voices approaching could be heard. She still didn't look at Sakura but her face was twisted in pain.

"Ino?" Sakura said her name softly with concern.

"Hey Ino!" Choji yelled. Ino turned around to face her teammates. Trying hard to keep the pain out of her face. However Sakura could see it spring back for an instant when her friends blue eyes rested on Temari who walked with herself wrapped around Shikamaru's arm who had his usual bored face on. _Oh_ Sakura thought as everything clicked into place.

"Asuma found us not long after you left and said that he has a mission so we have off till he gets back." Choji continued before sticking his hands back into the bag of chips he carried while approaching Ino. Shikamaru and Temari trailed slowly behind him taking their sweet time.

"You came all the way out here to tell me that?" Ino asked.

"Well that and Shikamaru wanted to look at some clouds." Answered Choji. Ino glanced at Temari and Shikamaru who were still a bit away. She felt her stomach roll in a bad way before starting to walk away. She didn't want to be around the couple. She was afraid that she could snap which would be very bad.

"Ino, where are you going?" Shikamaru asked when she walked past them.

"Back to town. There's no point in staying out here if we're not practicing." She glanced at Temari while she kept on walking. Shikamaru gently pushed Temari's hand off and went after her. Ino, who didn't know that he moved, flinched at the touch of his skin when he softly grabbed her arm making her stop.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing, I just have stuff to do." Ino answered trying to sound firm. She wanted to be mad at him for his decision to go out with Temari. But she couldn't be.

"Ino, you know you can tell me anything. Something's obviously bothering you, what is it?" Shikamaru's voice low so that the others couldn't hear him and full of concern.

"I can't tell you this time." She said with regret as she gently pushed his hand off her arm and away. "I need to go." Her voice was barely audible as she turned her back and started walking back to town, hiding the tears that were silently falling. Shikamaru, Choji and Temari stayed were they were as she walked away. Sakura however went to walk with Ino.

"So what are you going to do?" Sakura calmly asked as they got closer to the village.

"What are you talking about." Ino eyed her.

"Shikamaru and Temari, what are you going to do about them?"

"What do you mean by that?" Ino's voice was still soft and quite unlike usual.

"You like Shikamaru, so are you going to just roll over and let Temari take him or do you want to challenge her to get him back?" Sakura said. Ino's head seemed to snap back as she looked at Sakura all wide eyed.

"You knew that I liked him?" Her voice was in shock.

"No, I just guessed by the way you reacted with him and Temari being together. How long have you liked him?"

"I'm not sure exactly how long. It just sort of slowly came, but it really came out when he started going out with Temari. But he seems happy with Temari so maybe I'll just let them be." Sakura was worried. Never has she seen her friend accept defeat or give up so easily.

"He may be happy at the moment, but that's because he doesn't know what he's missing. We need to come up with a plan to get him back to you." Ino let out a small smile at her friends enthusiasm.

"Your right, I shouldn't just step aside and let her take him without a challenge. Thanks Sakura. But what can I do to get him back besides rip her to shreds?" Ino's voice was starting to reach its usual pitch again.

"Well," Sakura began, letting her mind think. "Maybe we can do to him what he did to you."

"What?"

"Make him jealous."

"How?"

"We'll see how he reacts when you're dating someone that's not him. He should come back if he likes you. Which personally I think he does." Sakura finished feeling proud of her idea.

"Okay. So who would that poor guy be that I use to get at Shikamaru?" Ino asked.

"We'll find someone. There's plenty of free men right now. How bout Shino?" Sakura asked.

"Ew no! I wouldn't be able to handle the bugs that come with him." Ino shivered at the thought of the insects that Shino carried.

"Neji?"

"Too serious."

"Rock Lee?"

"To weird. Plus he likes you remember?"

"Naruto?"

"Too much of a little kid."

"Gaara?" Ino rolled her eyes and gave Sakura a sarcastic look at the suggestion of Gaara. Like he would date someone.

"Maybe I should just find some random guy on the street and be like hey do you want to hook up for a bit so I can make this guy I want jealous?" Ino sarcastically suggested.

"You're giving up." Sakura mocked. Ino stopped walking which made Sakura stop too and face her friend.

"I'm not giving up. It's just, seriously? He wouldn't buy it. I wouldn't date any of those guys and he knows it. He'd see right through it and probably think that I'm pathetic."

"Don't worry, we'll find someone." They kept on walking a bit, almost to Ino's house when Akamaru jumped into their path where Ino almost stepped on him. She was surprised to see Kiba's dog not with him so she picked it up and cradled it in her arms.

"Strange." Sakura said, equally confused. Ino nodded as the dog nestled in her arms.

"Akamaru!" Kiba called out as he came around the corner. He spotted his dog nestled in Ino's arms. "Thanks for getting him." Kiba said while he jogged up to them. He reached to take Akamaru who growled at him.

"Is he alright?" Ino asked

"He's fine. Just upset that moms making me give him a bath." Kiba answered. Ino held Akamaru out for Kiba to grab. Once he got back his pet he held the dog in his arms so it couldn't bite or squeeze its way out. Ino and Sakura couldn't help but laugh at why Akamaru was running away. That was when they both looked at each other as the same thought entered their minds. Ino nodded to Sakura letting her know she was thinking the same thing.

"Hey Kiba." Sakura started. "Want to help us out with something?"

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**Click next chapter... you know you want to :)**


	2. Promiscuous Ino

**Thank you for those who left comments! Those always make me more enthusiastic about writing more. 3 you guys! :)**

**Here's the next chappy, things are starting to get spicy...**

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Operation jealousy started with perfect timing. It was Sakura's birthday party and of course everyone was invited. Kiba had agreed to play the part they needed with enthusiasm. _"Now I can have Ino as my girlfriend on record." _He told them, knowing that no one else but those three would ever know that the whole thing was just a set up.

The acting couple showed up to the party fashionably late to make sure they made a scene. Kiba's head was held high with confidence while Ino wrapped herself around his arm. Everyone in the room couldn't help but stare at the new "couple". Ino's eyes got a glance of Shikamaru with Temari sitting on a couch where they were talking with Shino away from the loud music. She was satisfied to see Shikamaru's shocked face as he stared. His eyes lingered on the arm that Ino was hanging on to. She saw his hands clench into a fist as his jaw tensed. However her satisfaction was broken when Temari noticed her boyfriend's body that she was leaning on go tense and slowly moved her hand up his chest to rest on his cheek and make him turn his attention to her in a soft kiss. However his eyes only briefly left Kiba and Ino before returning to watch with curiously.

"Come on, let's sit." Ino said while playfully pulling on Kiba's arm towards the sitting area. Like a dog on a leash he followed her through the crowd. Shino had left when Kiba plopped down on the couch across from Temari and Shikamaru. Pulling Ino down with him so that she sat on his lap before wrapping his thick arms around her waist having his fingers twist in with hers.

"This is unexpected." Shikamaru said when they sat down.

"What are you talking about?" Ino asked but was soon distracted by Kiba resting his chin on her shoulder as he too looked at Shikamaru in question with his dog like eyes.

"You two. Since when have you had an interest in each other?" He was concentrating on Ino intensely as he asked his question. He always knew she was extremely flirty and liked to tease the boys, but never had she actually dated anyone. Ino could see the look that said he didn't fully buy it. The guy was smart, _dam it._ Ino was about to make an excuse that would probably yank down the plan, but fortunately she didn't have to say it.

"I've always admired her. But one day she needed help, I was there and…. something grew." Kiba answered. Ino couldn't help but applaud in her head on how he answered Shikamaru's question. Brief, told the truth pretty much minus the first part, she thinks. Also the way he said that she needed help and he was there seemed to add a little something extra to get under Shikamaru's skin. Usually he was the one that would help her with an issue; it almost seemed like a slap in the face. But it was Temari she wanted to slap in the face. Not Shikamaru. She just wanted him jealous so that maybe she'd get another chance, one she won't screw up.

"So Temari, when do you go back home? I imagine that it's soon, you've been here for a while." Ino asked the other blonde who gave her a glare. Temari knew what she was up to.

"I don't have to return for a while. Not until they need me. Actually I might just start working out of here in the Hidden Leaf Village. Who knows, it may be the best decision I've had yet, other than you." She answered, stroking Shikamaru's arm when she finished hinting that he was her other good decision.

Ino couldn't help but feel envy rise inside of her like flames as she witnessed Temari treat him like a possession. _Mine_ He was Ino's, now it was her turn to get tense while watching the one she wanted get stroked by some other woman. Temari knew she was getting to Ino so to edge her on even more she placed a soft kiss on Shikamaru's cheek and then on his lips. Ino wanted to jump off Kiba's lap and pounce at the other girl like a lion and tear her to pieces. Kiba felt Ino's anger fuming off of her and tightened his grip around her waist, keeping her from launching an attack.

"Let's go get something to drink." Kiba said while standing up and leading her to where the snacks were. Not letting go of her the whole time to prevent a brawl.

"Could you believe that bitch?" Ino angrily said once Kiba dragged the fuming girl away. "She just has to rub it in that she's with him."

"Well she probably has a good idea on what's going on. I don't know much, but I do understand that you girls give off these vibes that other girls can pick up while guys will not even notice. You can't blame her for trying to hold on to what you're after." Ino glared at Kiba with the look of death, forcing him to take a step back.

"Whose side are you on?" She demanded.

"Yours, I'm just evaluating the situation." His answer seemed to calm her down as she reached for a chip out of a snack bowl. She was about to eat it when her body flew forward by the impact of Sakura jumping on her back.

"Hey girl, how's the scheming?" Sakura asked with her arms still wrapped around Ino's neck. "Everyone really thinks you two are actually dating."

"Well I wish it would have more of an impact." Ino said with a glance towards Shikamaru who was allowing Temari to twirl his hair while he watched the crowd.

"We think Temari knows what's going on." Kiba stepped in. Sakura released her hold on Ino and stepped up next to them.

"Figured she would. The question is what Shikamaru thinks." Sakura responded.

"We never know what's on his mind." Ino pitched in. She figured that him getting all tense when they first walked in was just all in her mind.

"Well hey, don't quit yet. It's only the beginning. You two should come join a bunch of us dancing, that may get more of a reaction if you know how to do it right." Sakura winked. "Anyways I'm going back to dance. Sasuke's drunk and he tends to get very…. promiscuous when like that." Her face seemed to glow as she left at the thought of Sasuke actually showing interest in women. Ino couldn't help but smile, thankful that she had finally given up the hunt of getting Sasuke for herself. Not only was it a waste of time, but it also helped her friendship with Sakura bloom.

"Shall we?" Kiba asked while holding his hand out to Ino. "After all, we are at a party."

With a soft smile Ino took his hand and allowed him to lead her onto the dance floor with the other bodies of people. Almost immediately their bodies picked up with the booming beat. Kiba made it fun for her as every so often he would twirl her around as a joke that would make her crack up in laughter every time before pulling her close to his body as they moved together. Ino had fun as she would rub her hand up an across his hard chest as her body moved to the rhythm with his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Hey there you loooove birds." A drunken Sasuke howled while his arms were wrapped around Sakura's small frame. "You gonna get some?"

"I'll remember you asked me that tomorrow when you're sober." Kiba joked back.

"He's just jealous he won't get any from Sakura." Naruto pitched in near by while he was hung on to by a brunette and a red head that Ino didn't recognize. The look Sakura gave Naruto could have killed. She would have slapped him except Sasuke would most likely fall if she wasn't there to support him.

As Ino laughed she looked over Kiba's shoulder to see Shikamaru and Temari still on the couch softly kissing as one of his hands rested on Temari's back and the other on her shoulder. Kiba turned his head to see what she was staring at. A mischievous grin made its way onto his face.

"You know, we could probably show them up." He whispered in Ino's ear. She looked at him with a sly smile, it could have a good outcome. Plus….

She dropped her arms from Kiba as she seductively eyed him while backing up away from the crowd. Amused, he followed her till they were by the wall before a hallway that led to more secluded areas in Sakura's house. Ino picked a good spot knowing that Shikamaru would see them if he looked up, which she was confident that he would.

Kiba walked up to Ino as she leaned her back against the wall. Standing inches away from each other Ino reached a hand behind his neck to bring his face to hers and allowed their lips to lock.

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**Sorry for stopping it there, its just that I'm going to need a whole new chapter for where this i****s going and Shikamaru's reaction. Oh Ino.**

**Yea, I know that seemed a more like a Kiba/Ino at the end. Let's just say that she can't deny that Kiba's really hot, it's just that it's Shikamaru that she wants so she has no problem seeming promiscuous to get him jealous. Ok I'm gonna stop talking now... SHIKAINO FOREVER!**

**please comment, they make me happy :)**


	3. Stand in the Rain

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Sorry, it took a lot longer to get this one up than I intended. I ended up staying at a friends house this past week because my parents were both out of town so I didn't have my computer. When I got home I started to write but I was so tired I decided not to post it yet because I wasn't quite sure what exactly I wrote. But anyways, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

**Disclamer: I own nothing! sadly.**

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Ino's hands slithered around Kiba's neck while her tongue licked his bottom lip trying to gain access to his mouth. He willingly opens, letting her roam while his hands slowly rub down her sides till they reach her hips. He takes the lead when he decides to pull her waist into him with his arms wrapped around her holding their bodies tightly together. She brings her hands back to rest on his chest as she grabs chunks of his shirt to bring him even closer. While his tongue memorizes every part of her mouth he gently subs circles into her back. Being this close to him Ino can smell the strong spice of Kiba's skin. Wanting more she breaks their lips apart and starts to kiss the side of his neck. Her eyes flash up to see Shikamaru across the room. To her disappointment he isn't watching them but instead is scanning the crowd. His jaw seems to be clenched and his eyes solid, unless it's just her minds just seeing what she wants to see. Either way it wasn't the reaction Ino wanted.

"Is it working?" Kiba gently said in her ear.

"He's not even watching." Ino's voice was low with frustration.

"Well then he's gonna hate when he sees this next part."

Kiba pushed Ino's back against the wall. One of his hands rested on the wall by her head to keep them balanced, his other caressing her face as he begged for reentry to her mouth. Ino smiled to herself as she denied his pleading. Annoyed, Kiba decided to bite her lower lip. Ino gasped giving him enough time to slip his tongue in. The kiss became vigorous while Ino slipped her hands behind his back pulling him harder against her. She couldn't help but admire his muscles she could feel through his shirt. His mouth left hers as he started to kiss down her neck and across her collar bone, making sure he hit all sensitive spots. A moan left Ino's mouth while her fingers rummaged through his hair and her other hand dug into his back. Slowly Kiba began to lead her into the darkness of the hallway they were near. At the entrance Ino took charge and pushed him against the other wall of the hallway. Her hands slipped under his shirt and rubbed along his hard abs and chest that she couldn't help but feel. While she did this Kiba slipped his own hands up the back of her shirt, feeling the warmth of her skin. Quickly Ino slid her hands out from under his shirt and grabbed the collar of his jacket yanking him towards her as his back left the wall and once again pinned her to it. With her hands still on the collar of his jacket she slipped it off him and tossed it on the ground. Their make out continued till she felt Kiba's mouth ripped from hers.

"That's enough." Ino followed the hand that was clasped on Kiba's shoulder to see Shikamaru. His face was unreadable as he pulled Kiba away from Ino and off to the side.

"Hey what's the deal?" Kiba angrily protested as Shikamaru's face became a glare towards the other boy.

"I don't want my team mate doing anything she'll regret." Shikamaru answered.

"Update Shikamaru, we're kinda dating." Ino pitched in.

"For a day and you're already sneaking into the corners. Come on, I'm taking you home." He went to grab Ino's arm but Kiba stepped in the way. Ino could see Temari walk up behind Shikamaru. She was annoyed and upset with Shikamaru. "Get out of the way Kiba." Shikamaru's voice dropped an octave as his eyes became threatening. Ino was happy that he seemed to be jealous but the look on his face scared her because he looked like he really would hurt Kiba.

"Isn't it my job to walk her home?" Kiba responded, his eyes challenging Shikamaru. He seemed to be having too much fun playing his role.

"He's right Shika." Temari started. "It is his job. Plus, they are now a couple. Come on lets go. We should just let them be." Her eyes landed on Ino with a glare.

"I don't care. I'm taking you home, now let's go." He pushed past Kiba and grabbed Ino's arm before dragging her behind him, ignoring Temari's angry voice calling his name.

Ino glanced back at where Kiba stood with a furious Temari. She was yelling something at him as he shrugged before picking up his coat and walking away back into the crowd with an amused look on his face. Shikamaru pushed through the crowd towards the door. On their way out Ino met eyes with Sakura who was off in the corner trying to wake up the passed out Sasuke. Ino wore a triumphant smile showing the success to her friend. Sakura however was looking at Shikamaru; her eyes seemed a bit concerned as she watched her friend get dragged out of her house. They started down the dark street heading to Ino's. Not a word left his mouth as he looked strait ahead, still not letting go of her arm.

"Um, you can probably loosen your grip now so my arm doesn't lose its blood." Ino said after a while when her arm went numb. He removed some pressure without even looking at her as they walked down the street.

"I don't understand why you're so mad. It's not like you don't do that stuff with Temari." Ino said, trying to find out what exactly he was thinking. She couldn't tell if he was jealous like she wanted him to be or what. He was so… troublesome.

"I'm not mad." His eyes continued to stare strait ahead. His voice hinted that he didn't want to continue the conversation. However Ino wasn't satisfied with his answer.

"Well you sure are acting mad."

"I'm annoyed Ino." His brows sinked lower as he responded.

"Annoyed?" That wasn't what Ino expected. Shikamaru stopped and turned to face her, yet his hand never left her arm.

"Yes Ino, I'm annoyed. I'm Annoyed of always having to take care of you. You're hopeless, always putting yourself in jeopardy, not thinking about your own safety. And then who comes in and saves you? Me. You can be so stupid sometimes. You just don't care, completely thoughtless and reckless with your actions." Ino's face went blank with his words. It was like a slap in the face making her go dumbstruck. But soon furry rose up inside of her as she became truly angry as she ripped her arm out of Shikamaru's grip.

"You think I'm reckless!" Ino yelled. Shikamaru's eyes remained solid on her. Unmoving at her rising voice.

"When it comes to yourself you just don't think. You look after everyone around you so much that you don't seem to care about your own wellbeing. You were giving yourself to him way too easy tonight." Shikamaru's voice remained calm.

"Was not! We were just kissing." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and was about to say something but instead closed his mouth and shook his head. A few raindrops began to fall.

"Come on. Let's get you home before it starts to pour." He didn't even try to grab her arm again as he turned and started walking down the street. Hands in his pockets. Ino stood where she was, staring after him. _'You can be so stupid sometimes'_ echoed in her head. She could feel her hands beginning to shake as she fought back tears. A single rain drop softly landed on her cheek. Looking up, Ino stared into the darkness of the night sky. So much for trying to win him over, she's nothing but a team mate, an annoying blonde. Some more raindrops began to fall and soon it was pouring as she stood there. She hung her head towards the earth, letting her bangs cover her face.

"Ino come on!" Shikamaru yelled.

Slowly, Ino looked up at her comrade a few buildings ahead of her. She could feel the hot tears on her face mixing with the cold rain. One step at a time she began to walk towards Shikamaru, avoiding his yes when she walked up next to him. She could feel him staring at her and was hoping that he couldn't see her tears.

Despite the rain, they walked slowly the rest of the way without saying a word. The words that he had spoken earlier continued to flow through her head. _Careless, reckless, stupid, hopeless._

"Ino?" The blonde refused to look at him when he said her name. She heard him sigh in the rain as the tears continued to silently flow down her face. She hoped that the rain was still able to hide them. "I'm sorry for what I said." Ino still wouldn't meet his eyes but instead looked in the opposite direction of him. Trying to hide her face even more as his voice stirred up more of her tears. _Careless, reckless, stupid, hopeless._ "I didn't mean to say what I said. I'm not even sure why I got so angry back there with Kiba." He paused, "I'm going to have some explaining to do to Temari for ditching her." He said more to himself.

"I don't even understand why you like her." Ino mumbled.

"What?" Shikamaru couldn't hear her through the rain.

"Nothing." Ino responded. She could see the lights to her house up ahead and started to pick up her speed. At the moment all she wanted was a warm shower and to snuggle in her bed under all the blankets she owned.

"I really didn't mean what I said. I just sort of snapped for some reason. I'm not sure why." Shikamaru's voice truly sounded sorry but Ino still couldn't get over it.

"Even if you didn't mean to say what you did, those words still came out of your mouth." Her voice was a bit shaky from her silent crying.

"It's just that I care for your safety. You are a very caring person. You always do the right thing and look out for others around you. But sometimes it seems like you care so much for others that you leave no concern for yourself. It's not a bad thing… it just – "

"Just stop talking." Ino interrupted. "Please, just stop." She closed her eyes as she tried to burry the pain.

They arrived at her house as Ino took out a key and went to unlock the door. Her shaking hand couldn't seem to get the key in. Seeing this, Shikamaru gently grabbed her hand to steady it and helped guide the key in. Once the door was unlocked they walked in. Their drenched clothes dripping on the floor.

"Where's you parents?" Shikamaru asked.

"Mission, they left this morning." She answered. Ino made an 'O' with his mouth in understanding. Shikamaru looked at her face in the light to see mascara running down her face that he couldn't see out in the dark.

"Ino? You okay?" He asked, his voice was soft while it held concern.

"I'm fine." She quickly turned her head and rushed into the kitchen. He could hear the water in the sink run for a moment before she came back out to the entryway where he stood. Her face cleaned of the black liquid. She stared out the window while Shikamaru stared at her. The rain drifted down the window and she watched as it filled the streets.

"You might want to stay here tonight. It's really nasty out there." She said. She turned to look at him when she finished. He could see a bit of puffiness in her eyes making it dawn on him that she had been crying. The rain really did well in hiding her tears.

"Do you want me to stay?" He asked. Wondering if she really didn't even want to be in the same room as him and was just asking out of courtesy, or maybe she really did want him to stay with her. Ino didn't answer right away. Just wrapped her arms around her shoulders and looked at the ground between them.

"I don't want to have to worry about you walking in this awful weather." She answered softly. He waited before answering, hoping that he could read her true feelings through her face. "And," She began, "I don't want to be left alone."

"I'll stay."

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**I'm having a lot of fun writing this! Anyways hope you enjoyed! Thank you everyone who reviewed the last chapter! **

**People's thoughts always help so PLEASE REVIEW!**


	4. Stay With Me

**Here's the next chapter! It may start out a bit slow but it's really cute at the end. Also, I'm tending to notice a pattern to my titles. I must have done it subconciously, but every chapter, minus the first one, is the name to a song that I listened to while writing the chapter. **

**The second chapter (Promiscuous Ino) you should recognize as Promiscuous Girl- Nelly Furtado. **

**The third chapter (Stand in the Rain) Stand in the Rain- Superchick. It's a sad/pretty song that I really like.**

**This chapter, Stay With Me- Danity Kane**

**Just thought I'd share that with you guys. It's actually kinda fun to go re-read the chapters with the song playing, that's just if you want to try it. I'm going to try and continue the chapters that way. ****Sorry, I'll stop talking now... **

**enjoy!**

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Ino couldn't believe her ears when Shikamaru agreed to stay with her. She wasn't even sure why she asked, it would only hurt her more if he stayed. She didn't want her love to be denied again like with Sasuke, yet, she also didn't want to give Shikamaru up as easy.

"I'll go get you some dry clothes." She said before dashing up the stairs. When she came back down she handed him the black t-shirt and grey sweatpants from her father's drawers along with a clean towel so he could take a warm shower.

When he went into the bathroom Ino walked back upstairs and didn't have the willpower to take a shower so instead she just changed into a white long sleeve shirt and put on her pink shorts with thin lime green stripes before sitting on her bed while twiddling her thumbs, listening to the rain on her window, still unsure of what to think. However her thoughts were interrupted when the phone rang on her nightstand. She picked up the phone only to hear Sakura's voice on the other line.

"What's going on? What happened?" Her friend's panicky voice asked.

"Nothing. He just walked me home." Ino answered.

"And that's it?! Come on Ino, you guys must have talked. He looked pretty angry when he dragged you out of my house." Ino briefed Sakura on what Shikamaru had said when they walked home. Sakura gasped and was ready to kick Shika's butt for what he had said until Ino told her about his apology.

"Now he's spending the night." Ino finished.

"Do you have a plan?"

"I don't even know what to think about the situation."

"It may be best to just see what happens. You know? Actually, you know what, I have an idea." Sakura's voice started to get excited.

"What?"

"Just be yourself."

"But what's your idea?" Ino once again asked.

"You'll find out. Bye!" Sakura hung up before Ino could say another word. Ino held the phone out looking at it with a curious expression while wondering what her friend was up to before hanging it up, wondering if she should be worried. Taking a deep breath she decided to go back downstairs.

Hearing the TV on Ino peered into the living room to see Shikamaru sitting on the couch. An arm rested on the back of the furniture while one leg lay along the length of the couch and the other rested on the floor. He didn't notice Ino as she stood behind him as butterfly's fluttered in her stomach at the sight of him. How bad she wanted to lay there on the couch with his arms wrapped around her and her head on his chest while watching the television. She was about to walk into the room and join him when melody of his cell phone went off. Not wanting to be caught, Ino jumped around the corner and leaned against the wall out of sight.

"Hey Temari." Shikamaru's sweet voice sounded around the corner. Ino felt as if a iron fist had clenched her insides, trying to rip them out.

"No, I'm sorry… I know…… She's my friend….. Yes I'm sure…." They were talking about her. A sudden urge to walk in the room, snatch the phone from his hands and start yelling at the sand brat on the other line took over Ino. Grabbing onto the table next to her she tried to keep herself from acting on adrenaline.

"I'll be fine…. I'll call you in the morning…. We will… Sleep well. Love you, night." He shut his phone off as the TV's volume went up. Ino remained around the corner for a few seconds before deciding to walk into the room and join Shikamaru.

"Hey there." He said when she walked around the couch and sat on the lounge chair near his head. Brining her legs up she wrapped her arms around them and rested her chin on her knees.

"Hey there yourself." She replied, "What are you watching?"

"I'm not sure. Commercials I guess. I haven't really been paying attention. Oh and thanks for letting borrow some of your dad's clothes."

"That's fine. I wouldn't want you to sleep in wet clothes, that wouldn't be very pleasant." He let out a small laugh before they sat there in silence for a bit. Tension seemed to grow as Ino wondered what to do. So many questions flowed through her head. None of which she wanted to ask.

The silence was broken by the phone ringing making her jump. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow towards her as she jumped across the living room to the phone. Ino picked up the phone expecting to hear Sakura on the other line.

"Hello?" Ino asked.

"Hey Ino!" Kiba's voice replied. "Sakura called. So what's going on, talk to me." Ino started to twirl her fingers in the cord to the phone as she turned her back to Shikamaru who was watching the TV.

"What are you doing?" She hissed.

"What? I can't call to talk to my girlfriend." He snickered. Ino giggled. "So tell me what you're wearing."

"What?!" Ino responded, her voice a bit high pitched. "Why would I do that?!"

"It's a game Ino. Something couples do on the phone. He's in the room isn't he?" Ino glanced behind her shoulder to see Shikamaru's attention still towards the TV.

"Yea."

"Great. Then he'll hear us. All you do is explain to me what you're wearing. He'll know what you're talking about, probably get mad. And if we're lucky he'll come over and hang up the receiver or something." Even though Ino couldn't see Kiba she could tell he was grinning on the other side.

"Alright. You go first." She said.

"Uh… I'm wearing socks… and nothing else."

"Oh that's great Kiba. Real sexy." Ino responded sarcastically. "But for real, come on dog boy."

"My jacket's laying on the floor so I got on my net shirt which has a little hole in it where you pretty much mauled me. My jeans remain on and I'm not wearing any socks. Akamaru's actually chewing on one. Oh and my hair is plastered to my face because of the rain. Just thought you should know about this hotness that's over here. Be jealous."

"Nice." Ino purred. "Now that's really hot."

"Of course it is. It's me we're talking about. Now it's your turn."

"Well, I'm wearing my white lacy bra, the one you like, underneath a long white sleeve shirt. My hair is still up, no socks. Then I have short pink shorts with thin lines of green running down the sides." When Ino finished she could hear Kiba give a low growl on the other side of the line which she could not deny sounded really hot.

"Anything?" Kiba asked.

"Nope." Ino responded after glancing at Shikamaru again.

"By the way, Temari's pissed."

"Good."

"Well hey, do you mind if I stop by in the morning. Maybe I'll luck out and he'll still be there." Kiba asked on the other line.

"Why not." Ino answered.

"Great. I'll see you in the morning sweet cheeks." Ino let out another giggle.

"Bye you sexy beast." Kiba laughed at his new nickname.

"Sleep good tonight."

"Oh I will. Love you. Night." Ino hung up the phone and started to head back to Shikamaru. She wanted to whack him upside the head for not responding to the call. _Lazy bum_ Her eyes landed on his plate of food he must have gotten for himself while she was upstairs. Reaching down she picked it up.

"I'll put this away." She said before heading out to the kitchen. She heard Shikamaru get up from the couch and follow her. Once she put the dishes in the sink she turned around to see him enter the kitchen with a cup in one hand and a dirty napkin in the other.

"They're mine. I can take care of them." He said after throwing the napkin away. He walked over to the sink as Ino moved off to the side. Picking up his plate he rinsed it before putting the plate and cup into the dishwasher.

"Thanks for letting me stay tonight." He said. "The walk home really would have sucked."

"That's not a problem. I wouldn't want you walking around in that stuff anyways." Ino responded. There was a moment of silence where neither one of them would look at the other.

"So, you and Kiba huh?" Shikamaru started.

"Yea." Ino nodded.

"You like him?" Shikamaru looked at her, forcing her to meet his eyes. Ino had a moment of panic on what to say. Playing scenes through her head on what would happen with different answers.

* * *

"_No, I actually love you!" He grabs her and holds her in a romantic passionate kiss._

* * *

"_No, I actually love you!" He runs out of the house screaming all the way home._

* * *

"_Yea, I kinda like him." _

"_Well what if I told you I love you." He grabs her and they kiss._

* * *

"_Yes."_

"_Good just double checking." Ino feels like she's going to pass out._

* * *

"_I love him." _

"_Is that you're final answer? Because I want you."_

* * *

Ino shook away all the different outcomes that were playing in her head.

"Do you like **her**?" she asked. Shikamaru's eyes widened a bit.

"Who?"

"Temari obviously." She responded.

"Well, I am dating her."

"Same with Kiba and me." With that Ino turned around on her heels and was about to walk out of the kitchen when the power went out. "Crap" She mumbled as she stumbled and grabbed onto the kitchen counter to keep her from falling.

"You okay?" Shikamaru's voice sounded in the dark.

"Yea, just peachy." Ino responded trying to let her eyes adjust to the dark. "I have a flashlight upstairs."

"Actually, we might as well just go to bed. It's one in the morning."

"That' probably a good idea. You know where our guest bedroom is upstairs right?" Ino asked as she heard Shikamaru start to move in the dark kitchen.

"Yep." Both of them started to find their way in the dark to the stairs and then made their way up. Ino made sure she stayed close to Shikamaru, close enough that she was able to hear his breathing. She never liked the dark and the wind outside moving the branches to the trees along with the banging of rain on the windows didn't help very much.

A crack of lighting, immediately followed by thunder, made Ino jump with a squeak. Shikamaru turned wondering what it was that had frightened the blonde.

"Ino, you okay? What's wrong?" He asked.

"Fine. Just hate storms." Another flash flooded the house before the thunder sounded. Ino jumped again, but this time she went right into Shikamaru's arms that came up to grab her when she jumped at him. The unexpected boy was thrown off bounce and fell onto the ground in the hallway with the small blonde on top of him. Ino had her face burrowed into his chest with her eyes squeezed shut. She always hated lighting, as far back as he could remember.

Once Ino realized what had just happened she sat up, embarrassed. There were a few awkward moments where Ino sat on his crotch while Shikamaru laid on the ground with both hands resting on her hips as she looked back down at him. Neither knew how to respond. Another strike of lightning and thunder sounded, making Ino flinch. Shikamaru could feel her shivering; before his mind knew what he was doing he had sat up and took his arms to pull Ino into him in a tight embrace.

Ino felt dumbstruck as she rested in the Nara's arms. With another sound of thunder she could feel a small teardrop fall down her face as the branches of trees continued to scratch against the house. Ino Yamanaka wasn't afraid of much, but thunderstorms truly frightened her.

"You're freezing." Shikamaru said in a soft, quite voice as one of his hands started to rub up and down her back as if trying to warm her up. "Did you take a shower after we got back to warm up?" Ino shook her head no against his chest.

Shikamaru let out a breath as he gently pushed her off of him and began to get up. Ino sat there on the floor, about to get up herself when Shikamaru's arms stopped her. He reached back down and slipped an arm behind her back while the other went under both her knees. With no struggle, he picked her up and started carrying her bridal style down the hall. He turned when he reached the door to her room and gently set down the shocked Ino on her bed.

"Get under the covers." He said. Ino did what she was told while her mind continued to catch up. Once she was under, Shikamaru took off the shirt and sweat pants he was wearing and slid into the bed so he laid next to her with only his boxers on.

"What are you doing?" Ino asked confused.

"Warming you up." Shikamaru thoughtlessly said as he wrapped his arms around her and once again pulled her body into his. Ino couldn't help but snuggle into the warmth that he offered as the sound of thunder continued to echo, making her try to get even close to him even though their bodies were already pressed tightly together. She didn't even notice how cold she was until he said something because her racing mind never took the time to pause and go hey it's cold.

Enjoying the warmth, Ino rested her freezing toes against Shikamaru's bare legs. He flinched at the touch because of how cold her toes were. But he soon relaxed and tangled their legs together so that her feet may warm up faster. Slowly, and unthinkingly, Shikamaru started to rub small circles on Ino's back, making her slowly start to fade out. It didn't take long for the sounds of the thunder and rain with the scratching branches to fade out so that the only sound she could hear was his soft breathing with the rise and fall of his warm chest that her head rested on.

"Shikamaru," Ino said so softly that he had to strain his ears to hear her. "Please don't leave me." Her eyes remained closed as her breath became heavy with sleep.

Shikamaru brought up a hand and gently rubbed it along the side of her face. His hand stopped at her cheek as he stared at her sleeping form.

"I will never leave you, Ino Yamanaka."

* * *

**:) **

**I leave thursday for the weekend but I will try and get another chapter up next week. But I can't promise anything.**

**Please review! Especially if you have any ideas on where this story should go. I already have a rough idea, but it can be altered a bit lol.**


	5. Complicated

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Hey guys! First I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has commented so far on this story. You truly have no idea how happy that makes me, I have literally laughed out loud on some of them. They really do make me want to write more and make sure it's as good as I can get it. Second, I'm sorry that this took way longer to get up then I said it would, the past week hasn't been very good with family stuff. Plus I'm finishing my college applications which takes a lot of time. But anywho, here's the next chapter! :)

**Complicated- Avril Lavigne**

**Girl Fight- Brooke Valentine **_(thought it fit in with Ino's mood at the end)_

* * *

Ino could feel the warmth of the sun on her face from the giant window that took up half of the wall in her room. Before opening her eyes she stretched out her limps while taking in a big breath. Her senses kicked in, making her pause in mid-stretch. There was something else giving off heat other than the sun and when she took a breath in there was a rich sent of a spice that was foreign to her room. _What the hell? _Her eyes snapped open to see someone else's skin which her head was resting against.

"Morning." Shikamaru's voice gently sounded. Ino looked up to see him looking at her. It was then that she remembered him crawling into bed with her to help warm up her body. She was shocked that he had stayed the entire night. She thought that he would have left to sleep in the guest bedroom after a while, but he stayed. "Sleep well?"

"Yea" Ino said before letting her head fall against his skin again. She couldn't believe he was still there. Not only that, but he still had an arm loosely wrapped around her shoulders.

"I thought so. You snored pretty heavy." Ino's body went stiff.

"I snored?"

"You were out pretty hard." He answered. _My life is over!_ Ino rolled onto her stomach so that she could dig her face into the pillow space under his arm that was around her to hide her embarrassed face.

"Oh my god." She wined into the pillow

"What?" _Crap. _She didn't know that she had spoken out loud. She lifted her head up.

"Nothing." Ino answered. Shikamaru looked at her a bit longer before wiping off his confused expression.

"Now that you're up, why don't I go make breakfast."

"Wait, you can cook?"

"Yea, but I don't do it often because it tends to be a pain. But, I guess I can do it in return for you letting me stay last night." He took his arm off from around Ino and used it to take the covers off of him. Ino's eyes stayed on his body while he sat on the edge of the bed and lifted his arms up to stretch out while sounding a loud yawn. His forest green boxers were still the only thing he had on so that when he stretched she could see all the muscles rippling in his back.

Ino sat up behind him and without even meaning too she lightly rested her hand on his back, making him pause. He brought his arms down when her hand slowly went up to rest on his shoulder. Ino could feel her heart racing as her hand traced over his muscles, she barely even breathed.

"Thank you… for staying." Her voice sounded softly. Shikamaru turned his upper body to face her while her hand remained on his shoulder. His dark eyes bore into her bright sapphires, as if he was pondering on what to say.

He lifted his arm. Ino's skin tingled where his hand rested on the side of her face, his face so close to hers. She could feel her cheeks turn red as her heart seemed to stop beating and her breath caught.

"I will always be there for you." He said, still looking into her eyes. Ino's mouth opened slightly, thinking that he might close the gap between them. He seemed to be trying to figure out what her reaction would be if he did. But he didn't have time to find out when the knock of someone at the door sounded, making them jump apart.

"I'll start breakfast." Shikamaru said while he stood up, not looking at her. He threw on his clothes before heading down to the kitchen. Ino sat for a few more seconds until the second knock was heard. She cursed under her breath at whoever was at the door before standing up to go downstairs.

She could hear Shikamaru banging around in the kitchen, trying to find what he needed to cook. Walking to the door, Ino was fuming, wondering what would have happened if someone didn't knock.

"What?" She hissed as she swung the door open. Her big blue eyes widened to see Kiba with Akamaru at his side.

"Don't look so surprised. I told you I was coming over this morning." Kiba beamed. "Oh, and these are for you." He pulled out a bouquet of flowers from behind his back and extended them to Ino, who shyly took them. "Is he still here?" his voice grew to a whisper as he peeped his head in to look around the corner.

"Kitchen." Ino responded in the same quite voice. "He's cooking breakfast."

"He can cook?" Kiba's face was shocked.

"That's what I said."

"How did last night go?" Ino blushed at the comment. Kiba smirked. "That good huh."

"Well, I'm not sure. I think he was about to kiss me until you showed up." Kiba's smile dropped.

"Whoops, sorry." Ino shrugged.

"Well don't just stand there, you going to come in?" She asked. His smirk returned as he stepped inside the house.

"Hi Shikamaru!" Kiba said when he entered the kitchen with Ino. Shikamaru's body seemed to tighten at the sound of his voice.

"Hey Kiba." He said after a few seconds. His hands were busy making scrambled eggs with bacon. "You want some eggs?"

"No, that's cool. I already ate breakfast. I came over to walk Ino over to training." Kiba said while he sat down. Ino, who had gotten a vase for the flowers and was filling it with water, eyed Kiba, wondering where he was going with this.

"But our team doesn't have training today." Shikamaru started. "Not until Asuma sensei returns from his mission." He glanced at Ino who had her back to him while she turned off the water.

"She's going to go train with me. We decided that if it was a nice day today we would go out to the training grounds and spend the afternoon out there. She's going to help Akamaru and I on some stuff and I told her I'd help her out with her mind jutsu's." Akamaru let out a little yelp of agreement.

Ino had set down the vase on the table that Kiba was sitting at. When she looked up, she saw that Shikamaru had put down the spatula and was turned around looking strait at Kiba. His eyes were narrowed as he leaned against the counter next to the stove with his hands supporting him. She could see his mouth trying to resist the frown.

"She only does her mind jutsu's when I'm there to help." Shikamaru's voice was stern.

"Yea, but that's only in actual fights. I'm just going to help build her skills so that maybe one day she'll be accurate and talent enough that she can do them on her own incase you're not there to help her."

"I'm always there to help her." Kiba opened his mouth to say something, but then thought better of it and instead gently shook his head. Ino went over to get plates down for her and Shikamaru while he put food on them.

"You sure you don't want anything?" She asked Kiba.

"I told you, I'm full." She set her plate down next to Kiba while Shikamaru sat next to her. They ate their breakfast in silence that Ino was afraid to break between the two guys. She wanted to say something so badly, but wasn't sure what. When her plate was cleared of its contents, Ino walk over to put it in the sink.

"You about ready to go?" Asked Kiba. Shikamaru lifted his eyes from his food to look at the other boy before staring at Ino for an answer out of the corner of his eye. Ino paused for a second, looking between the two sitting at her table.

"Yea, just give me a few minutes to throw on some clothes." She answered before quickly ducking out of the kitchen before Shikamaru could say anything. She knew that agreeing to go was mean to Shikamaru, but she was frustrated. She decided that if he really wanted her, he was going to have to come after her. Or else he can suffer seeing her with someone else.

When she came back downstairs, she wore her usual purple outfit. Shikamaru and Kiba were waiting at the door. Kiba stood half a step behind Shikamaru, wearing a triumphant smile.

"Shikamaru's coming with us." He gleamed. "decided today isn't such a bad day to go practice." Ino looked between the two of them. Shikamaru wouldn't meet her eyes, but she could tell something was going on in his head.

* * *

"Shikamaru!" The three of them paused their training at the sound of a new voice. Ino was thankful that they had paused because Kiba and Shikamaru seemed to be getting a little bit too competitive with each other, even for her. That was, she was thankful, until she saw who that voice belonged to. "Shika!"

Ino turned around to see the angry Temari stomping towards them. Her face was red with furry and if steam could come out of her ears, they would be whistling.

"Shikamaru! What the hell did you do last night?! You have major explaining!" She yelled at him. Shikamaru's face flushed of all color as he stared at his furious girlfriend, not sure of what to say. Ino couldn't help but smirk at the other blonde.

"I told you, I stayed at Ino's because of the weather." He said, a bit confused. Temari glared at him.

"Kankuro saw you this morning through a window. You were getting out of her bed!"

"Temari, she's a friend, it's going to sound bad but all that happened was the power went off so there was no hot water for a shower and she was freezing, dangerously, the only way to warm her up was body heat. That's why we were in the same bed." Shikamaru quickly explained. But all it did was make the blonde's face go scarlet.

"My brother saw you two. There was more going on. I can't believe you slept with that bitch!" Temari pointed a finger at. "That little slut!"

"Excuse me? Who do you think you're calling a slut? You pathetic sand pansy!" Ino fired back.

"I will pulverize you for saying that!" Ino took a threatening step forward.

"Temari, chill." Shikamaru stepped in front of the sand child while Kiba rested a hand on Ino's shoulder, not taking his eyes off the other blonde. Temari put her hand down and looked at him. Her face turned from a level beyond furry to that of a little child who just wanted her toy back. "Shika…."

"Nothing happened." He said in a quite voice while reaching out to take her in his arms. He pulled her into an embrace while she dug her head into his shoulder. "She's only a friend."

_Only a friend!_ Ino screamed in her head. She wanted to bash Shikamaru on the head for saying that. She knew there was more than just friendship that lied within their relationship.

Looking at the two made her sick all over again. It was as if nothing had changed. Man, she just wanted to bang her head against something in frustration. Ino continued to watch them when Temari lifted her head from his chest and laid it on his shoulder, looking strait at Ino. The two blonde's made eye contact when a sly smile stretched across Temari's face, one of triumph for the moment, and malice for the future, sending chills down Ino's spine. Kiba must have also seen the evil intentions since his grip on Ino's shoulder tightened a bit.

Ino was about ready to launch and rip her head off when Kiba turned her around, deciding that it wasn't safe for them to keep glaring at each other.

"You'll get him." The dog boy whispered in her ear. Ino then shocked herself by wrapping her arms around Kiba's waist and smothering him in a hug. He gently wrapped his arms around her and patted her back a few times before they separated and went to resume training so that Ino could let out some steam which she just gained.

Some time past, Shikamaru and Temari took a restful spot at the edge of the trees so they could relax and talk a bit while Kiba and Ino trained. She was upset that Shikamaru and Temari were still there, wishing that they would take their love fest somewhere else. She didn't want to see it. Kiba seemed to notice her pain by the way he kept looking at her. It was easy to tell that he felt sorry for her, which made her feel even worse. Others always felt bad for her; they always felt like she needed protection. The feeling was rotten, as if she couldn't do anything on her own, like she couldn't handle herself. She'll show them, all of them. Shikamaru was hers, and there's nothing that anyone else can do. That sand brat was in her way, and she was going to shove her aside and win Shikamaru's full affection. No more playing nice, it was time to take some risks.

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** I stopped there because I am having a decision making problem and want your guys help. I can't decided if I want them to all end up on a special mission together that requires some undercover and role playing work on their part, plus a made up character from mwah, which will create a whole lot of issues and stuff... or should I keep it in Konoha where everyone is? You're the reader, please help me make my decision because I want to write what you want to read.**

**Also please review! They really do make my day :)**


	6. Girl Fight

**Hey everyone! I had to push myself to get this chapter up before leaving for this weekend. Now it's 11pm and I have to wake up at 4am, so I hope ya'll like it. I'm actually kinda proud of it. THANK YOU those who expressed their opinions on where this story should go! **

**Girl Fight - Brooke Valentine ** **_(works better with this chapter than the last)_**

**In my arms- Plumb _(at the end it works well since she always feels safe when in his arms) :)_**

**Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

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"Gotcha" Kiba said after smashing his thumb down on Ino's. She frowned at him since it was the sixth time she lost and it was starting to get old, yet one more try wouldn't hurt.

"Again" She demanded, slipping her thumb from under his. Once again they began fighting for dominance in their thumb war that took place in the park.

"Beat ya again." Kiba was amused and wondering if Ino would want to have another go at it. Feeling pleased with himself because of the scowl on her face he looked at Akamaru. "What did you think about that boy?" He asked the small white dog. Akamaru barked twice before Kiba felt his body weight pushed back into the ground. On his back Kiba found himself looking strait up into the angry face of the blonde, one hand resting on either side to hold herself up.

"But you can't beat me in a real fight." She said with a mischief smile. She knew it was most likely not true, but needed something to boost her confidence after losing. Ino became confused when Kiba started laughing underneath her. But before she could ask him what his problem was he rolled over so that she was pinned to the ground.

"You sure about that?" He asked while snickering. Ino just smiled sweetly right back before bringing her knee up into his stomach with enough force to push him off so she could jump to her feet.

"I think I could handle myself." Kiba glared at her before standing up. Akamaru barked furiously at Ino until she glared at the dog, making him stick his tail between his legs with a whimper. Ino quickly changed her expression and went down to pick up the small dog. "Aw, I'm sorry Akamaru. I didn't mean to get after you." She told the dog while hugging him.

"Traitor." Kiba grumbled to Akamaru at seeing Ino hugging cradling his dog like you would a child. Ino looked at him.

"At least I didn't knee you down low." She finished while putting Akamaru back on the ground.

"If you did I'd put honey in your hair next time your back is turned."

"You wouldn't."

"I would." They stared at each other for a few seconds, waiting for the other to break the eye contact. In the end it was both of them when Sakura came running up calling both their names. When she reached them she immediately bent over to rest her hands on her knees breathless. Ino and Kiba looked at her, wondering what it was that Sakura had sprint to tell them.

"You guys – are hard – to find." Sakura said between gasps of air. Kiba and Ino continued to stare, waiting for their friend to recover. When Sakura's breathing was almost to its normal rhythm she stood up strait. "You'll never guess what I just found out."

"What?" Ino and Kiba said together.

"I saw your Romeo being dragged by the wicked witch of the west on a shopping trip and decided to do some stalking, I overheard one of their conversations and what I got was that it sounds like she wants to take Shikamaru to the Sand Village for a while."

"What!" Ino screeched which unsettled a small group of songbirds from a nearby tree. "She can't take him out of town! That's cheating! That....that….." Ino screamed in frustration with her hands on her head. Kiba and Sakura eyed her, wondering if she was going to blow up while Akamaru covered his eyes.

"She probably wants to do it as a precaution since she knows that he feels something for you, plus she knows what you're up to." Kiba said

"She's going to have a lot more to worry about than losing him soon." Ino said before storming off. Kiba and Sakura looked at each other with first worry, then excitement, before running after their crazy blonde friend.

* * *

The market was extremely busy with the afternoon crowd. Ino pushed her way through, searching for Temari and Shikamaru, not yet sure what she was going to do when she finds them. Sakura, Kiba and Akamaru trailed behind her, trying to stay close.

The way Ino frantically searched the stores made it easy for her to spot the fan that the sand child carries on her back. They dashed towards Temari and Shikamaru through the crowd but had to come to an abrupt halt.

"Hello fellow youth!" Lee said with a smile that was too big for his face in front of them. "Sakura! I want to know if you will go out on a date with me. I promise all of your wildest dreams will come true. If you date me I – " Lee was cut off when Ino's fist came at him without warning, knocking the bushy eyebrow green tight suit ninja to the ground cold.

"Don't get in my way when I'm mad!" Ino yelled at the unconscious ninja. The other two looked at her wide eyed, they have seen her mad, but not this mad, not even when she competed with Sakura for Sasuke. Ino didn't hesitate before rushing off again in the same direction.

They followed their targets around a corner to see them looking at a rack of female shirts that were set up outside a shop. Ino was planning on going right up to the two and sucker punching Temari, but something made her jump behind the first clothes rack she saw.

Watching the couple she saw them swinging their hands together while Temari dug through the clothes with her free hand while Shikamaru whispered sweet nothings in her ear. The scene made Ino's insides seem to melt as her heart sunk. It looked like something you would see in a movie the way the two played out, only the girl was cast wrong.

"Can I go kick her but?" Ino helplessly whispered to her friends who looked at each other with question. Sakura looked back at her friend to see Ino's face ha dropped and was looking at her own hands in her lap.

"I don't see why not." Sakura said, wondering why Ino hadn't already done so. A few moments passed with the sound of Temari's laugh sounding loudest among all the voices in the street.

Without a word, Ino stood up with her face still looking down. Walking around the rack, she made her way through the other customers over to Shikamaru and Temari. Shikamaru was rolling his eyes at something Temari had said when they landed at Ino approaching. His mouth opened a bit upon sight, but there was a slight hesitation before he spoke.

"Ino" He said with part question and part shock. Temari instantly turned around and glared at the smaller girl. Ino made a mental not at how Temari's hand tightened on her boyfriends hand, as if afraid Ino would rip their hands apart. But it wasn't Ino who pried their hands apart, but Shikamaru when he slipped his hand away from hers and hid it behind his back.

"What are you guys doing?" Ino asked, unsure of what she was doing. Shikamaru looked back and fourth with hesitation.

"Oh, we're just shopping. Shikamaru's coming back with me to the Sand Village for a while." Temari answered while rubbing her hand under Shikamaru's chin as if polishing off a price.

"Oh really? He didn't say anything about that." Ino said with a little more confidence, her eyes turned to her comrade.

"I told you I'm not going." He said with a firm voice to Temari.

"But, Shika…" Temari complained.

"I can't leave, I have to stay incase there's a mission I need to go on." His tone told Temari that there was no debate. Temari turned her head to shoot daggers with her eyes at Ino who couldn't help but smirk.

"Why are you here?" Temari demanded. Ino's smirk was wiped off when her eyes started to dart around in panic on what she was doing.

"Uh…. Shopping." She said while starting to look through some clothes on a rack near by.

"By yourself?"

"Uh…. "

"Hey Ino, what do you think about this color?" All three turned their heads to see Kiba holding up a red sweatshirt in front of him, releasing the tension off Ino.

"Well it defiantly matches those things under your eyes." Ino said after a slight hesitation.

"Oh, you're with him." Shikamaru said.

"Yea, Ino said I needed a new wardrobe. I don't see what's wrong with what I usually wear." Kiba answered. Shikamaru just nodded in understanding. "Hey Shikamaru, what do you say we go get some ramen and let the girls do some of their own shopping together?"

"WHAT?!" Temari and Ino yelled at the exact same moment.

"We'll ditch you two and do some guy stuff." Kiba explained as if the two were stupid, Ino could see the humor behind the dog boy's eyes. It was so not funny to her.

"YOU'RE GOING TO LEAVE ME WITH HER?!" They said once again at the same time while pointing at each other.

"Doesn't sound like such a bad plan." Shikamaru decided, not wanting to be around the "troublesome" girls. Ino couldn't believe what Kiba was doing. Was he asking for blood shed? She perked up _That's it!_ He was giving her a chance to rip out the other girls hair without Shikamaru witnessing.

"Bye, bye, you two have fun." Kiba waved while pushing Shikamaru away. The second they went around the corner, the two blondes swung their heads to face each other.

"You better back off if you know what's good for you." Temari said, not afraid to show her nasty side with Shikamaru out of sight.

"Make me." Ino shot right back. Temari narrowed her eyes.

"You already had your chance and missed. He's with me now, get over it."

"You know what, I've had trouble with guys through my whole life. Shikamaru was the first one that saw more in me than others would and I know that you're scared because you know that we have something that can be more than just friendship. So if you think I'm just going to let him go or back off just from a verbal threat, then you've got another thing coming."

"Then how about a physical one!" Temari yelled while throwing her fist into Ino's face. Thanks to Ino's quick reflexes she was able to block the hit, but not the kick to her gut that came after.

Ino bent forward with a gasp, shocked by the strength that was in the kick. But Ino was quick to recover so that when Temari went to bring her elbow down hard on Ino's back, she managed to grab Temari's arm before it could make contact. Swiftly she twisted it so that she held it pinned to the sand brat's back.

"I'm not as easy to take down as I look." Ino said into her ear, ignoring the faces that turned to stare, including Sakura's who came out from behind the clothing rack.

She held Temari locked and defenseless. She could have defeated her right then and there. But it wouldn't be enough, they both wanted to scratch each others faces to nothing. So instead of breaking the arm, Ino sent Temari stumbling forward only regain her balance a few feet away. Looking up, Temari was confused on why it didn't end. But then she smiled, ready for a fight.

Both girls took out their throwing knives with malice all over their faces. Then, as if someone had fired a shot, they ran at each other. Ino thrust her knife at Temari who dodged and went to kick Ino's feet out from under her.

Ino jumped to avoid the feet while throwing her knife at Temari. The sand child knocked it away before throwing her own that missed by a hair. Ino took out three throwing stars and threw them. Temari dodged all but one which got her across the cheek, creating a small cut.

They paused while Temari reached up to touch the hot blood that started to slowly make its way down the side of her face. Taking her hand away, she observed the red liquid on her finger tips before her eyebrows came together.

"Eliminate the competition, erase the threat." She said to herself before taking out a throwing star of her own. She threw them before Ino could react, slicing the blondes leg. With a cry of pain she fell to the ground, grabbing at her leg that the star was still sticking out of. Biting her lip, she ripped it out, ignoring the pain from how deep it went.

"Dammit" She mumbled from her stupidity of being taken off guard because of the blood that had come into the game, she meant to cut off her hair, not actually make her bleed. But now Temari became truly pissed, rushing to the blonde on the ground only to kick her in the gut, making Ino spit out blood. Then, showing no mercy, she dragged Ino up by the hair and slugged her in the face which cut her lip.

Sakura intervened by knocking Temari away from Ino from the side before she could throw another hit, and then stood ready to defend her friend. A smile of amusement arose on Temari's face as she reached for her fan with eyes on Sakura who stood with her knife ready to fight. Sakura braced herself so she could survive the wind, but Temari's kick to the face that followed was what made her go flying to the side, out for the count.

Slowly, Temari walked up to Ino who laid on the ground in pain, unable to move. The look on her face screamed evil intentions when her foot steps came to an abrupt halt at the same time the Kiba stepped between her and Ino, with a pissed off look.

"What do you think you're doing?" Asked a furious Shikamaru that kneeled a few yards behind her with his shadow possession jutsu holding her in place. Temari's face drained of color to hear his voice.

"Defending myself." She said after recovering from shock.

"That wasn't defending you were doing. That was finishing." Kiba growled, ready to launch at her himself.

"She attacked me first." Temari said, pointing at Ino who laid behind Kiba with her eyes squeezed shut from the pain of the deep cut in her leg.

"Doesn't matter who attacked who." Shikamaru said as his jutsu retracted back to him. "You were going for the kill."

Temari looked at him before staring towards the ground. Pain filled her face from getting caught, she admitted it was getting out of hand, and she wasn't planning on going for the actual kill. Just leaving an imprint on Ino that would last so she would stay away from Shikamaru. Sakura let out a low moan as she slowly go into sitting position to see the scene before her.

Assuming that Temari wasn't going to try anything stupid, Kiba relaxed his defensive stance, but still kept an eye on her. Shikamaru rushed over to Ino, not even glancing in Temari's direction.

Kneeling down, he slowly hovered his hand over the cut, as if the action would heal it. Then, gently and quickly he wiped away some of the blood, trying to see how deep it really was. The second his hands made contact with the skin Ino let out a hiss of pain, her arm flew up to grab Shikamaru's above the elbow.

"She needs to go to the hospital." Shikamaru announced while taking in her cut and bruised face. "I'll take her."

"You sure?" Kiba asked, still staring at Temari, noticing how her face twisted for a second of fury.

"Yes, I am disgusted to be around her right now." Shikamaru said while nodding in Temari's direction. Kiba nodded, Shikamaru slipped one arm behind Ino's shoulder and the other under her knees to pick her up. Another hiss of pain left her lips when he lifted her off the ground. Unable to hold her head up, she let it slump against Shikamaru's chest, able to hear the frantic beating of his chests as he rushed her to the hospital. Slowly, her eyes began to close with body seeming to go numb. Shikamaru felt the sudden change in her body, knowing that she was fading.

"Hold on Ino." He silently said. "Hold on."

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**Hope ya'll liked it. PLEASE REVIEW - makes my day + feedback really helps.**


	7. Can't Get My Head Around You

**Well here's the next chapter the day before Christmas. Think of it as my present to all of you haha. Thank you so much to everyone who has left comments, it makes me want to do even better on this for you guys. Yea I know it took me a long time to write this but since it's the holidays I really wanted to write a oneshot for Shikamaru and Ino which is 'Mistletoe and Snowballs' plus this chapter was REALLY hard, I have no idea why but I struggled in writing this one so I hope it came out okay.**

**Songs going through my head for this chapter;**

**'Can't Get My Head Around You' - **_**The Offspring **(Neither of them know what to think of the other in this chapter)_

**'Everything You Want' -**_**Vertical Horizon** (Though he's really smart, Shikamaru can be really oblivious sometimes.)_

**Enjoy!**

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"_Sh – Shikamaru?" Ino looked unbelievingly into the Nara's dark brown eyes that were held inches above her. He was so close that she could feel his soft breath hitting her face. _

"_Ino. I'm so sorry." He whispered. "I was so stupid not to see it." Ino looked at his face that represented that of a sad puppy._

"_See what?" She asked._

"_You. Ino… I love you." A smile stretched across her face as Shikamaru lowered his head to close the gap between them, his lips gently brushing hers, unsure of his own action. Letting him know that it was okay, Ino crushed her lips against his while her arms slinked around the Nara's thick neck. Her hands passing over the muscles of his broad shoulders making him tense at her touch._

_Ino pulled Shikamaru's body closer so that they were pressed tightly together. She could feel an elbow resting on each side of her so that he wouldn't crush her as he took the invitation to enter her mouth. It felt so right to have the sweet taste his tongue rub against the roof of her mouth before tracing the inside of her bottom lip._

_The action sent a tingle throughout her body, making her shiver in satisfaction. Shikamaru moved one of his arms underneath her and arched her back even more into him while she twirled some of his hair in one of her fingers. _

_He moved his kisses to her neck, touching her skin gently and slowly, making sure he got every spot of her. Ino let out a moan as she pressed their bodies together even tighter. She ran one of her legs up along the side of his, her foot brushing the skin above his ankles. She kept her foot against the warmth of his skin, lifting some of the fabric of his pants while toying with him. Shikamaru smiled against her skin._

"_I think you want those to go the opposite way." He whispered, coming back up to taste her lips._

_Her hands moved to the button of his pants, slipping a finger in the side to play with the straps before unbuttoning them. Then, slowly, she began to slip them down while he continued on the side of her face._

"_Shikamaru –" _

Ino let out a loud groan when her eyes fluttered open to see not the dark eyes she was hoping for, but the dull hospital ceiling above her. Glancing to the sides of her hospital bed she failed to see the Nara she wanted. Just her friend Sakura with her back turned, working on something. _Knew it was too good to be true._ She thought, letting out a sigh.

'_Ow' _Ino thought to herself when she tried to sit up only to fall back against the mattress. Without lifting herself up again, she removed the sheets and looked down the length of her body. She was in a hospital bed, her body wearing one those ugly gowns they give out. The leg that Temari hit was bandaged with some dried blood that seeped through. Lifting up her hospital gown to see her midsection she saw no wrappings, instead it was filled with nasty bruises that were not purple but yellow and green. _Great_.

Ino noticed her hand had a needle stuck into it and followed the tube up to a clear bag that hung by her bed. _I like pain killers._ She thought as she let her head relax back on the pillow. There was a clang off to the side. When Ino turned her head she saw Sakura with her back turned, working on something unseen. When the pink girl turned around there was a needle for a shot in her hands. Ino felt a bit panicked where as a wide grin formed on Sakura's face.

"Hey! There's my sleeping schemer!" Sakura happily stated. Ino didn't say anything right away, just kept looking at the needle.

"Please tell me that is not going into me." Ino responded, still not taking her eyes away.

"It's to help your insides. You took quit a beating." Sakura walked over and quickly gave Ino the shot, sinking the needle deep into her upper arm.

"I hate shots." The blonde said, looking the other way.

"Well that was your last one. By the way, good job yesterday, you caused quit a riot." Sakura walked away to put the materials back. Ino glanced in her friend's direction.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Tsunade's not pleased and gave Temari two days to finish her business here and leave, so that means we won't be seeing her for a while. Also Shikamaru is pissed at her. I don't think that relationship is going to continue. He hasn't spoken to Temari or anything. Actually, he's been hanging around the hospital since he brought you here yesterday evening. I'm sorry but I had to send him home after one in the morning, it's the rules and I had already let him stay longer than I should have. But he was so upset I'm sure he'll be here any minute. He may even be downstairs right now. Oh and Kiba wanted me to give you a high five from him." Sakura finished, lifting her hand so that Ino could slap it.

Ino's hand rested back on the bed as she let a small smile grow on her lips.

"I knew I didn't get hurt for nothing." She said softly, letting her eyes slowly shut. "How much longer am I here for?"

"Soon, just a few more things and you will be good to go. Shikamaru's coming to take you home." Sakura spoke as she started to unwrap Ino's leg to put on clean cloth. Ino looked at her wide eyes. "Wow, she really got you good here." Sakura said when she reached Ino's skin to see the deep gash from Temari.

"Shikamaru's taking me home?"

"Yea. He's really upset about what happened and said he'll take you home because like it or not, you're going to need some assistance. Unless you want to limp the whole way on this leg and I know you'd rather go through the pain instead of crutches."

The door to Ino's room opened, both girls eyes darted to see who was entering. It was Shikamaru.

"Good to see you're awake." He said, going to stand by Ino's side, hands in his pocket. Ino sat there, staring at him, always put into a state of awe when he walks into the room. "Feeling okay?"

"I've been better." Ino said, looking at the needle in her arm as Sakura removed it.

"There all done. I'm going to go take care of a few things and then you're good to go." Sakura said when she was done. Then she left the room, leaving Ino and Shikamaru alone. They both remained silent for a few moments, unsure of what to say to the other. Ino played with the edge of her blanket, avoiding his eyes that rested on her deep in thought, lost in that brilliant mind.

"Surviving the hospital?" He asked as he lowered himself to sit on the side of her bed, his hands resting on the edge. She could feel the part of his body that rested against her through the thin sheets. Heat rushed to her lips as she remembered the dream that she had not five minutes ago.

"Uh, yea." She answered, trying to get her face back to its normal color. "Actually I just woke up a few minutes ago." His eyes widened at the information.

"You were asleep that long?"

"Yea. It's not too bad. I mean, I did come in the evening and its morning now."

"But still. You came here at five last night and it's actually almost noon." He rubbed his hand on his chin for a second, staring at the floor.

"I needed the rest." Dropping his hand he looked at her, staring into her sapphire blues with his dark brown eyes. Ino could feel the heat rush back to her lips as he continued to stare at her. Then he started laughing.

His laughter was loud and seemed to bounce off the walls. Ino grew confused at the sudden change in the atmosphere. Her face turned into a frown, wondering what his problem was.

"What? Is there something on my face?" She asked, touching her face with the tip of her fingers. The question made him laugh even harder.

"Typical, troublesome Ino. Always look at the best of the worse." He said without looking at her as his laughter calmed down. Ino looked at him as if he did drugs, she didn't think it was that funny and wasn't sure what to say. So she hit him.

She didn't hit him hard. It was just a nudge on the shoulder for him laughing at her. Though it didn't hurt, he grabbed his arm and smiled at her.

"What? You think you can beat me up just because you're in the hospital bed?" He asked.

"Psh, I can beat you up any day." She said.

"You want to try that?" A smile formed in the corner of his lips.

"I'm not scared at you." Shikamaru leaned closer to her, his face just inches away, just like her dream. Amusement was written all over his face as the smile continued.

"I'll remember that." Shikamaru's voice was low and level as he looked her in the eye. They remained there for a few seconds, his eyes remaining on hers. Ino was unsure of what to do when the door opened again and Sakura stepped in.

"Alright Ino, you're all set to go." Her friend said. Shikamaru quickly sat back up strait but Sakura had already seen how close they were and smiled to Ino. "Stay safe. I'll check on you tomorrow." Sakura threw in before leaving again, off to see other patients.

"Ready to go then?" Shikamaru asked, turning back to Ino who nodded. She threw back the covers before standing up; keeping all of her weight on her good leg. Reaching to the small table that was by the bed she picked up her clothes that were set down neatly.

It didn't dawn on Shikamaru that she needed to change until she looked at him kind of funny, making his cheeks turn scarlet.

"Um – right. I step outside." He said while rubbing a hand against the back of his head in embarrassment. Turning on his heels he started for the door.

"You don't have to leave." Ino's voice stopped him. "You can just turn around."

Shikamaru looked at her a second too long, processing what she had just said. Embarrassed by what she suggested, Ino turned her gaze to the clothes she played with in her hands to avoid his look of confusion. Honestly she wasn't sure herself on why she had told him he could stay.

With a shrug of the shoulders he turned around, trying to keep a smile from creeping onto his face. Surprisingly he didn't feel awkward at all when the sound of Ino putting on her clothes reached his ears. That was till he felt his eyes start to move on their own for a peek over his shoulder. But before anything could be seen he regained control and snapped them to stare forward at the door. Ashamed and puzzled with himself on why he almost did that, especially to his own teammate. He started to get so lost in his own mind on that one motion next to the way he has been behaving around his friend in general lately that his body flinched when Ino rested her hand on his shoulder since he would react to her saying his name several times to let him know that she was done.

"Hey, Nara, you home?" She asked, her sky blue eyes looking worriedly into his. Even though they have made eye contact many times he never really noticed how much they were the color of the sky on a clear day. He hadn't been cloud watching for a while and was starting to miss the time where he would rest in peace. The thought of relaxing made him let out a yawn. "You gonna make it?"

"Yea, just tired. Are you ready to go?" He asked. Ino nodded and they left the room with him stopping by the door, putting a hand out to motion for Ino to go first who smiled at him before walking by to leave the hospital room behind.

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It was warm in Konoha as they slowly made their way to Ino's house. She was limping a little bit from her wounded leg but it wasn't bad. Just enough to make them have to slow down their pace which Shikamaru didn't mind, he enjoyed just trudging along.

"Ino, I'm really sorry about all this." Shikamaru suddenly changed their conversation after eyeing her for a few seconds. Her lip still cut and knowing the bruises that must be all over her body, covered by her clothes.

Ino turned her face to look at him. Wondering why he had said that. She had forgotten all about the brawl with Temari for a little bit while walking with him.

"Don't be. It was not your fault. We just fought." She said, turning her face towards the ground. She thought that was why he had been more spacey than normal, there must be a big dilemma going on in his head of how to handle the whole situation.

"I don't know why you two fought," _Yea right_ Ino thought while he spoke, "but somehow I feel responsible for Temari continuing after you were down." His voice lowered towards the end, his eyes not leaving the ground. "She shouldn't have done that."

"Have you talked to her since?" Ino asked without thinking, knowing what she wanted to hear but at the same time hoping she wouldn't hear it.

"No. I broke up with her." Ino's eyes widened with some amazement that she was actually hearing what she wanted to happen so bad. But at the same time her heart felt to drop while looking at Shikamaru's face. He was still looking at the ground, mouth pulled down at the corners into a frown. _Home wrecker_ she felt great about herself. She finally got their relationship to an end, but now felt bad to see him like this.

"I'm sorry." She said, trying sooth him. Get him back into the mood he was a moment ago. She honestly was sorry, it was mostly her fault, but at the same time there was a small party going on in her head.

"No. It wasn't going to work anyways." Shikamaru said, looking up again. "We are two completely different people that live hundreds of miles away from each other. They say that opposites attract, but in that case we were too opposite from each other that the only common interest was our jobs and responsibilities. We could understand the others stress." Unsure of how to respond, Ino remained quit. Letting them walk some in silence. That was when they passed the edge of the trail into the forest to where they would go train. Ino stopped.

"I'm not ready to go home yet." Ino said, looking down the path that disappeared into the trees. Shikamaru followed her gaze.

"Then what do you want to do?" Shikamaru asked, stepping up next to her. Ino looked up at the sky, the sun was close to the west and soon it would start descending down past the horizon.

"We can go to the opening where we train next to the river. The sky is clear so there should be plenty of stars out tonight." Shikamaru looked up too, she was right there were no clouds in the sky. He preferred to look at the clouds, but maybe stargazing wouldn't be too bad. He looked back down at Ino, her eyes still looking longingly down the trail. She was hurt, but it didn't seem to bug her, she wanted to limp the long path to the spot she mentioned. However, Shikamaru knew he needed to be responsible or else Ino would do whatever she wanted, no matter how bad she hurt. It was who she was, an aspect he liked.

"Sure. But on one condition." He started. "I'm going to need to carry you. There's no way you're walking all the way there in the shape you're in." He watched her turn her head towards him, a funny look on her face from whatever thought was going through her head.

"Okay?" She said, unsure of how to act. Excited that he asked yet feeling shy all of a sudden.

"Piggy back? We'll move faster." He laughed by her behavior and facial expression. Ino nodded before he turned his back towards her. Ino put her arms around his neck when he took them and pulled her body up so that she could wrap her legs around his torso. Then Shikamaru placed his hands behind him dangerously low on Ino's back to hold her. "Ready?" He asked.

"Yep."

"Then let's go." Shikamaru laughed, enjoying himself before setting off down the path with Ino resting on his back.

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**How's that chapter? Hehe I already started the next one and it makes me happy. **

**Please review! I like to know if my work is appriciated with all the time I put into it when I should be doing other stuff.**

**Oh, and if you think Temari's gone, you are mistaken. Just because she has to leave doesn't mean she's out of the story. **


	8. White Flag

**Wow, I know, I've been really bad with the updates, especially this last month. This new year has been crazy so far with family, closing in on colleges and midterms are this week. Please don't bite my head off, that would hurt. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year! Everyone that has left a review so far this story - THANK YOU!! You all are awesome! And yea Temari was a bit out of character in the last story but I just really wanted to write a fight scene between the two which I'm happy people liked. Well anyways, I'll stop yapping, here's the next chap. Enjoy!**

**Song: White Flag- Dido**

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By the time they arrived at the spot the sky had become a deep purple, waiting for the last rays of sunlight to pass away. There was no wind to rustle through the branches and the only sound of nature was the stream flowing gently as a few crickets began their nightly orchestra.

"I can't remember the last time I sat to watch the stars." Shikamaru said while letting Ino slide off his back.

"That's because you're usually inside lying on your bed and looking at the ceiling to wait for sleep." Ino responded with a smile.

"Stalker."

Ino waved his comment away, "I've just spent way too much time with you." She said before beginning to walk towards the stream with her slight limp. Shikamaru stayed behind for a few moments, caught up in the beauty of dusk while Ino's body swayed as if dancing to some music in her head. The last rays of day shone off the long blonde hair as it swung back and fourth behind her, giving it some light pink.

"Look, there are the first stars!" Ino called out while pointing towards the darker parts of the sky. Shikamaru turned his head to see several glimmering slights in the sky that shone from millions of light years away.

While continuing to look at the sky there was soft thud from where Ino stood. His eyes snapped to where she once was but couldn't see anyone.

"Ino!" He called out in panic while running towards where she was last seen. Millions of different possibilities zoomed through his head all at once on what may have happened. Everything from her leg giving out, someone had come and harmed her or she was playing a prank, in which case he would probably be pretty ticked off.

Right after he called out her upper body flew up into sitting position from where she had collapsed in the long grass, looking around frantically to figure out why he had yelled out with so much alert. The moment she popped up, Shikamaru slowed to a walk, letting relief pass over him.

"What's wrong with you?" Ino demanded while watching the color return to his face. Shika quickly regained his composer and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Lost sight of you." He said in a monotone while coming to a halt to look down at her. She let out a giggle while he sat down next to her, one arm draped over his knee while the other one supported him from behind so he could sit up.

There were was a moment of silence when Ino let herself fall backwards on the ground while with a sigh. Both of them remained looking at the sky as it got darker. The steady sound of the stream made Shikamaru feel tired as his eyelids slowly began to close while listening to the dark world.

Soon he too was lying on his back by Ino, one hand resting behind his head and the other on his stomach. They were lying so that their heads were right next to each other but their feet going in opposite directions. His heavy breathing could have had anyone fooled that he was sleeping but Ino knew better. He barely breathed at all when sleeping; the heavy breathing was just him being at a peaceful state of mind. A small smile of satisfaction formed on Ino's lips while her eyes remained on the sky, spotting more stars as time went on and before she knew it the sunlight was gone.

"It's so peaceful." Ino said softly, breaking the silence between them. Shikamaru opened his eyes to see the twinkling stars above them.

"Yea, but not as interesting as clouds. You can't really make shapes out of stars." Ino rolled her head to the side to look at him with a shocked expression which he didn't need to look at to know she was giving it.

"What are you talking about? Stars create many things, everything from shapes and figures to stories. Now I can't remember of ever hearing of a cloud having a story." Shika shrugged his shoulders.

"Sorry. I've never been really good with connect the dots."

"And this is coming from the best strategist we've had in decades." Ino rolled her eyes. "You really are the laziest person I know Shikamaru." He turned his head to look back at her.

"Would you have it any other way?" The question made Ino catch her breath. She wasn't sure if he was trying to flirt with her or if he meant it as friends. It was little things like this, actions or comments, which always made her hopeful.

But her biggest fear was of screwing it up. She was a flirt, but she never really knew how to flirt with Shikamaru. He was different. She could have a good guess on what he was thinking, but in the end she never really knew exactly what was crossing his mind. Unlike other guys, he treated her as a person. He would argue with her when others feared her unless it was too 'troublesome'. He was sensitive and everything. The fear of coming on too strong was always there, she didn't want him to feel like another one of her challenges to go after like Sasuke was. He was more.

"No." Ino answered while rolling over so that she had an elbow prompting herself up on both sides of Shikamaru's head, her sky blues looking down at his deep darks. "I wouldn't have you any other way." With that she took a risk. Lowering her face down to his she captured his lips in an upside down kiss.

Ino meant for it to be a quick peck on the lips so she could get a reaction. But there was no opportunity to back off and evaluate. Shikamaru had returned the kiss and wasn't about to let her go.

It was a different kiss, different from Kiba's, from all that she had ever kissed. Something new that she was not use to. Instead of the rough crushing he was soft and gentle. The soft feel of his lips were gentle and not forceful. There was no tongue, just the soft, gentle, sweet taste of his lips slowly connecting to hers.

Ino felt dazed and was nervous of messing up so she slowly backed her head up, watching the Nara's eyes remaining closed before slowly opening up to look back at the blondes blue eyes.

"Ino…." Shikamaru tried to process what else to say, but couldn't think of anything. Instead just remained staring at her, speechless.

The silence continued and made Ino feel nervous, what if she was rejected? Yea he kissed back, but maybe he really didn't return the same feelings as her. Or could it be that he was still upset about Temari? It would suck if that was still the case.

Shikamaru moved to sit up, not looking at Ino as his head passed hers before standing. "I should get you home."

Ino's face dropped, rejected. Exactly what she was afraid of, what all girls are ever afraid of. The one thing that keeps them from taking the risks that get other girls what they want. It both turns out really good, or extremely awkward and can ruin a relationship.

Still looking at the ground she stood up, in shock of what had happened. "okay," she managed to say. There were a few moments of silence.

"Come one, I'll carry you again." Shikamaru offered, now looking at her. Ino swallowed her fear, pain and sorrow to regain her pride and confidence to look him back in the eye.

"I can walk just fine." She stated before heading in front of him, knowing that she wouldn't be able to hold the strong face for long due to the feeling in her throat as if she had dry-swallowed a pill.

"Ino, come on. It will be easier on your leg if you don't have to walk on it." Shikamaru pleaded.

"It is not that bad, just a slight limp." She continued on, Shikamaru keeping the same pace by her side.

"Don't be reckless." Ino halted to a stop, her face in shock as she remembered what he had said in the street on that rainy night, _careless, stupid, and hopeless._

"_You're hopeless, always putting yourself in jeopardy, not thinking about your own safety. And then who comes in and saves you? Me. You can be so stupid sometimes. You just don't care, completely thoughtless and reckless with your actions."_

"Forgive me, but I don't need you to come save me this time." She stared at Shikamaru with anger, making him remember too. The Nara's face dropped once the memory of the awful things he said returned.

"Ino – I –" But he didn't get to finish his sentence. She cut him off by walking past, not wanting to look at his face. She was embarrassed, broken. Why was it that she felt so much for the Nara?

So wrapped up in thought and feelings the time went by quick, before she knew it Ino had left the path and had begun making her way through town. Not only that, but she had been running despite the pain in her leg. There was no use trying to stop the hot tears that streamed down her soft cheeks

"Ino! Ino wait!" Shikamaru yelled from behind, trying to keep up. But her feelings had launched her into such a fast pace that he struggled to gain on her. She couldn't stopped, didn't want to stop.

Turning, Ino crossed a bridge that went over a small creek while heading for her home when the injured leg gave out, making her body collapse on the wooden structure in a heap. Sobs escaped her sweet leaps while remaining kneeled forward on the ground, head facing down and hands out for support.

She could hear the sound of Shikamaru's feet quickly approaching before he kneeled down next to her with heavy breathing from the running. Wrapping his strong arms around Ino's tiny figure, Shikamaru brought their bodies closer together in an embrace, trying to comfort the sobbing girl by letting her cry on his shoulder.

"Ino, I am so sorry." Shikamaru whispered in his ear while gently stroking her back, every so often making a circle with his hand.

"I – I tried – so – hard." Ino said between sobs, figured she had already gotten thus far, might as well go the whole way. "Shika, I – really – really – like you. Maybe – even love."

Shikamaru remained silent, continuing to draw small circles in her back while she started to calm down and was soon starting to gain control of the tears.

"I know you may not feel the same way. I know - and hope that it doesn't – ruin our friendship. But it's something – which I needed to get out. If you don't feel the same way – that's okay. I just wanted you to know." Ino added.

There were a few more moments of silence where Shikamaru thought of what to say, unsure of how to put it.

"Ino, I don't know what to think." Shikamaru started, "I admit that I have felt something lately but I don't know what it is. I have been a bit more protective than usual but it could just be the brotherly side of me. Either way, I just ended a relationship, and am not sure if I'm ready to get into another one. On top of that, any type of relationship beyond friendship could be hazardous to our team; it could stir up all kinds of issues."

Ino closed her eyes as he spoke, trying to not let go of what little control she had of her feelings. What he was saying made sense, but it wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"I understand."

"Now let's get you home." Shikamaru picked her up bridal stile and continued to take her home. Arms around his thick neck, Ino held on, no energy to argue with being carried. She knew there was no way she would be able to walk and that was how they remained with the silence between them the rest of the way to her home.

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**One more chapter to go, I think you will like it :) I am going to try my hardest to get it up soon. Please leave a review, it only takes a few moments and always makes me happy.**


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